Natural hazards · Old Lyme

Old Lyme, CT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Old Lyme comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 309 claims here since 1978.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Old Lyme?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Old Lyme to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Hurricanes14%Coastal flooding7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Old Lyme faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Coastal flooding

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Old Lyme flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Old Lyme, from FEMA’s records.

309paid claims since 1978

$8.1Mpaid to owners

37homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Sandy: 152 claims, $7.1M
Not a named storm: 50 claims, $148K
March 2010 Nor'easter: 22 claims, $279K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (4) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Old Lyme isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: .

Around Old Lyme

Old Lyme and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lymemostly inland floodingHigh

East Lymemostly inland floodingHigh

Old Saybrookmostly inland floodingModerate

Old Lymemostly inland floodingModerate

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Old Lyme covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Old Lyme’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Old Lyme. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Old Lyme total about $2.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.